ZEAL Creative, the UK’s most effective brand activation agency, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Sam James as Head of Retail & Shopper within the agency’s ever-growing strategic planning team.
Sam joins team ZEAL from Manchester-based promotional marketing agency Blue Chip Marketing, where for the last 9 years she has focussed all her time and energies on understanding the UK’s diverse range of retail channels. Her specialist area of FMCG and grocery is a real passion point for Sam and she is excited about helping ZEAL’s world-leading clients to win in these fast-paced, ever-changing environments.
Sam James, Head of Retail & Shopper at ZEAL Creative, says: ‘I’ve been admiring ZEAL campaigns from afar for a few years now so joining the team was an easy decision to make. I was especially drawn to the wide range of influential brands that they work with, the standard of existing thinking within the agency and their desire to grow and evolve their strategic offering.’
Sam will work hand-in-hand with ZEAL’s Planning Director Callum Saunders who was determined to bring Sam on board his team. Callum comments:
‘I first met Sam at an industry event several years ago and was immediately impressed by her knowledge and passion for all things retail: bringing her into the business to spearhead our growth in this area was a decision I didn’t even have to think twice about. At ZEAL we build and execute effective retail strategies for some of the world’s biggest brands and Sam’s depth of knowledge in this area, alongside her previous experience of working with ZEAL’s founders, is already seeing her add huge value to our business.’
Sam also has the benefit of working alongside Will Adams, a former Shopper Marketing Manager from Tesco, who joined ZEAL three months ago, and is giving the agency unique insights into how to win with the UK’s biggest grocery retailer. She is also supported by Yvette Flower, formerly of the shopper media agency Capture, who returned from maternity leave last year to focus 100% on strategy and planning.
Sam has found it very easy to adapt to her new life of ZEAL, she continues:
‘The ZEAL team has already impressed me with their widespread shopper knowledge at every level of the agency. The passion that they have for their clients and the work that they do is truly contagious and excites me for what the future has to hold.’
Outside of work Sam is a dedicated mum to two beautiful young children and when she’s not taking too many photos of Point-of Sales (POS) with her IPhone she enjoys exploring the North East coastline with her two feisty dogs.
ZEAL wishes Sam and our new expanded shopper strategy team the very best of luck and looks forward to seeing this team develop and grow further in 2022 and beyond.
